Let it be known: he is quite serious about his passion. He sits in his big boy chair, assesses the white paper in front of him, and selects his first medium with careful consideration: colored pencil or owl-shaped crayon?

Quiet, please. Genius at work.

In this instance, the crayons won.

Per Crayola, young children are better able to grasp and draw when there is a rotund, colorful animal attached to the writing utensil. (actually, they claim that the shape of the little animal makes it easier for kids to write since they grasp it better.) So like any good mother, I sought out the latest piece of molded plastic that will allegedly further my child's development and promptly purchased it.

Scotty did a great job this particular picture. Since his animal-crayon selection was sadly limited to only red, blue, and green, he eventually moved on to the colored pencils, as if offered him a chance to shade and contour his drawing with more depth and complexity.

Happy Tree Bear

Notice the focus? The concentration? This kid is in the zone.

When Brian came home, Scotty showed off his masterpiece with excitement and a bit of trepidation. Brian praised him for his use of color and realism, though noted some aspects of his technique lacked finesse. It's okay; he's only 20 months. We've got plenty of time to improve.

We named this picture, "Scribbles at Dawn" and hung it on the fridge. I'm sure Van Gogh's mother would have done the same.